Pulling herself to sit up again, Lynnie smiled and nodded. "Mummy's going to bring you some food," she promised him. Then the childlike persona faded, and she looked tired. Their encounter the night before had wearied her more than she wanted her parents to know. "How are you, Tiernan?" she asked him quietly, the elder part of her coming to the fore. "How long were you running?"

Unlike some who might have been surprised by the change in the little girl's personae, Tiernan took it in stride, knowing there was far more to his sister than she let those around her see. They'd seen a hint of that last night; hopefully, they'd never have to see it again. "Too long," he replied with a weary frown of his own. "I'll be fine. I heal quickly. What happened after ....I don't remember all of it," he added, frowning further.

"He decided that it wasn't worth the fight," she told her brother quietly. "He ran away, with his hounds. He'll have to face all the courts knowing that he has two children he cannot control or kill. They won't risk their own against mortals who know what they are and how to kill them. If he tries again, it will have to be alone, and if he does try again, I will break his cycle." She smiled, the expression very adult on her young face. "We brought you back to Maple Grove Manor, and Edward and Lisbeth looked after your wound and gave you medicine. They left some here for you, too, for the pain."

"You came for me," he said, realizing the truth of it and in awe of that truth. He had protected her, and she had returned the favor. He found his eyes burning suddenly, an odd sensation, tears prickling at his eyes. "No one has ever done that for me before," he whispered, not trusting his voice. He'd been alone for so long, the only one of his kind, and here he was with his sister, the only family he had ever known. And hovering close was a woman who was part wolf and with whom he had some sort of inexplicable connection. It was more than he could have ever hoped for.

There were tears in Lyneth's eyes as she watched him come to that conclusion. "You're my brother, Tiernan," she reminded him. "You're family. Not just my family, either ....The people who came last night; my father, my uncle, my cousins. They didn't come because I asked them to, because I didn't. They came because you needed them, and there is nothing they won't do for family." Her smile brightened as she looked at him. "What else could possibly have made me say no, but a family like this?"

What she was telling him only made his heart ache more, but it was a bittersweet sort of feeling, not unpleasant exactly, but strange and new. Something he hadn't felt in a very long time, not since he'd been a child - not since he'd had a mother. "They don't even know me," he said, his voice catching in his throat. Even her father, Desmond - he had only met the man once or twice.

The little girl sitting with him smiled her old smile once again, crawling over to tuck herself against his good side in a warm embrace. "They will know you," she promised him. "You're family now, whether you want to be or not. Mummy and Daddy didn't hesitate when you were in danger - that means you're as much their family as mine." She squeezed gently. "Get used to it."

He nodded his head silently as she settled herself against him, his good arm going around her to pull her close, grateful for the warmth and affection he hadn't known for such a very long time. He had so many questions, so many things he wanted to know, but for now, it was enough that she was just there with him. It took him a moment to find his voice again. There was something else she needed to know. "Her name is Faolan," he told his sister, regarding the girl hiding beneath the bed. "She defended me against the dogs before you and your family arrived."

"Our family," she corrected him, a little of that little girl persona making itself known now she was happier in herself with his state of being. She tilted her head back to look up at her brother. "Why did she have a nasty collar on' Didn't it hurt?"

"I-I think that was how he was controlling her," he replied uncertainly. He'd certainly experienced his fair share of their father's cruelty over the years, but to see someone else suffer for his sake was something he could not abide. "He was using her to lead the dogs, forcing her to do his bidding, but I ....I must have reached her somehow. She's a wild thing who deserves to be free, not enslaved by the likes of him," he said, the anger and hatred he felt for what the Hunter had done plain to hear in his voice.

"Wufust ....Rufus says she's a werewolf, that she was born that way," Lyneth mused, proving that little girls who listen at doors learn an awful lot that way. "He thought she might not change back, if she'd been a wolf for too long. I'm glad he's wrong. She's pretty." Her eyes flickered to the edge of the bed on Tiernan's other side, where Faolan's tousled head was just visible. It seemed as though she didn't want to be hiding, but some instincts couldn't be switched off so easily as others.

Tiernan turned his head to regard the girl who'd risked her own life to defend him, his expression softening. "She's beautiful," he remarked, not quite correcting Lyneth so much as agreeing with her. "I think she may have been stuck in her wolf form too long and has forgotten how to be human," he mused. He had once told his sister that if he spent too much time in his animal forms, the same thing could happen to him, so it seemed a logical assumption. "Try talking to her again, but be gentle."

The little girl at his side smiled, turning that smile onto Faolan. "Hullo, Fay," she said quietly, and all of a sudden, she was the exuberant child everyone knew best, albeit an exuberant child who knew a little bit about how to behave around skittish animals. "Thank you for saving my brother."

Kneeling by the side of the bed, Faolan eyed the little girl, remembering her from the night before but only vaguely, in fits and starts. Hesitantly, she twisted to face the pair, laying her folded forearms on the bed beside Tiernan's thigh to look up at him, her head resting against his leg.

"I think she likes me," Tiernan said. As Faolan's head came to rest against his leg, he reached down to touch her hair, wondering if it was as soft as the fur she'd worn in her wolf form. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the wolf-girl, except that he felt some uncanny connection to her. Was it just the fact that she'd come to his defense or was it something more" "I'm not sure what to do, but I don't want her to be afraid."

"Of course she likes you, you're very likable," Lyneth insisted cheerfully. She sniffed him deliberately. "You usually smell better, too."

Faolan chuffed out a soft laugh at the silly compliment, even as she tilted her head into Tiernan's touch, just as she had done before the little girl had entered. Her hair was uncombed, yes, a little rough to the touch, but promised to be silky soft when it was clean and dry.

"Do you think it would be all right if she stayed with me?" he asked, unsure what was expected of him. He wasn't even sure how long he was going to be welcome here, or what was going to happen to him or to Faolan now that they were free of the Hunter.

"Why would anyone make her go?" his little sister turned it around on him curiously. She glanced up, more in tune with the people in the manor. "Mummy's coming out of the kitchen," she warned them with a grin. "You don't have to hide from Mummy, Fay, but you can if you want."

Faolan looked at Tiernan once again, as though asking him for permission, but it was obvious the moment the approaching footsteps reached her own sensitive hearing. She tensed, a look of alarm in her eyes.

"It's all right. You're safe here. I promise," he assured the girl, putting his trust in his sister and her family. After all, they had risked their lives helping him. He lifted the blankets to invite her to curl up beside him, as if to wordlessly tell her it was all right to join him and that he'd keep her safe. He owed her that much, at least. "She will need a bath and clothes and food," he murmured, knowing he would need the same, as well as time to heal.

She shrank away from the cloth to begin with, but realizing his intent, allowed him to dab at the grease on her skin. At his question, she shook her head, though her eyes strayed to the other plate. Her hand reached out to touch his chest, pointing out that he hadn't eaten at all.

"You understand what I'm saying," he said, more to himself than to her. She seemed to have forgotten how to form words, but understood him well enough to find a way to respond. He smiled a little as she pointed to his chest, realizing what she was trying to tell him. There seemed to be some understanding between them, even without words. "I'm hungry, too," he admitted, taking up a sausage for himself and devouring it hungrily.

Nodding once again, Faolan seemed to brighten as he finally ate something, crawling over him to curl up at his side, her head resting on his leg. There was something very earthy about her; something very synonymous with the animal world she seemed to have inhabited for a long time. But no mere wolf would have attached themselves so quickly to a human-like being. What was happening here was something beyond mere animal instincts.

It wasn't like she was his pet, either; it went deeper than that, though neither of them probably understood the connection just yet. He felt content there with her, at peace even, so long as they were alone. It was having someone else there watching that made him uncomfortable, unsure what these mortals - these humans - expected of him. He had not lived with people before, and he did not really know or understand their customs, though he had observed from afar.

Some customs, however, were almost universal. Both of them were dirty, their skin marred by blood and soil, evidence of the hunt that had brought them together, and thankfully, it seemed that Faolan did understand what a bathroom was. Or, at the very least, she didn't fight back when Tiernan ran a bath. Kneeling beside the tub, left alone for a moment, she reached out to touch the steaming water, shrinking back at the heat only to touch it once again. Delight flared on her face as those vague memories of being human surged up once again, telling her what this was and what it was for. When Tiernan returned, she was up to her armpits, bent over from where she knelt on the floor, shaking her head under the water to soak her hair throughly.

Tiernan returned with an armful of towels and what appeared to be a couple of robes of some sort, halting in the doorway to find the naked girl leaning over the tub to scrub at her hair. There was that strange stirring deep inside again that he'd been trying to ignore. Some part of him knew what it was, but he refused to give in to that baser part of himself. "Fay," he started. "It would be easier if you were inside the bath." He set the pile of towels down and hung the robes on a hook. He knew something of these things. Life was not so very different in the Fae world.

She didn't hear him, obviously, but she knew he was behind her, lifting her head carefully out of the water to squeeze the water out as her golden eyes turned to his. She was smiling; the first truly relaxed, truly human expression on her face since she'd woken up. Clearly the sensation of getting clean was a good one.

He moved over to the tub to turn off the stream off water, before leaning over to swirl the water with one hand. "Climb into the bath," he told her, sweeping a hand toward the tub, as if to show her what he meant.

Again she hesitated - not in disobedience, but in quiet wonder at words spoken that were not an order or a demand. Curious to know what it was he intended, she unfolded from the floor, sliding tentatively into the water. After years of washing only with her tongue and the occasional heavy rainfall, a bath was sheer heaven, and it showed. She relaxed, watching him once again. Was he going to get in with her, or was his shoulder hurting him too badly"

This bathing thing was as new to him as it was to her, at least as far as human rituals were concerned. He'd sorted out how to get the water running in the bath and what the soap and shampoo were for. Thankfully, the bottle of shampoo featured a photo of a woman scrubbing her hair, which was a big clue. His chest was bare, one shoulder bandaged. One side of his body was decorated with a line of tattoos that ran down his arms and chest, while the other side was not. She had not yet seen his back or the scars that were remnants of the punishments he'd suffered at his father's decree. For now, he was more concerned with her than himself, and her hair was the first order of business. "I am going to wash your hair. Is that all right?" he asked, reaching for the bottle of shampoo.

She watched him closely, leaning forward to sniff at the bottle he reached for. It had a clean, fresh scent, and for a moment, her mind groped to recall where she had smelled it before. Then it came to her - this was what the little girl's mother smelled like. A shy smile touched Faolan's face as she nodded to Tiernan. There was nothing wrong with smelling like a mother who could love not only her own child, but that child's brother, too.

All the reaching was difficult, and it would have been far easier if he was in the bath with her, but the thought of baring himself to her made his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He poured a good amount of the liquid in the bottle onto the palm of his hand and held it out for her to smell. It reminded him of a garden in springtime - a pleasantly flowery scent. "It smells good. It reminds me of spring," he shared his thoughts with her, for lack of something better to say.

She sniffed once again, tilting her head curiously as he spoke. Her hand rose, pointing to the shampoo on his hand, to her nose, and then to him, that shy smile of hers flickering to life once more. It smelled of him; he smelled like the first touch of spring beneath the crisp snow of winter, to her.

"It smells like me?" he asked, slowly sorting out what she was trying to tell him without the use of words. He smiled a little at the presumed compliment, even if he wasn't sure if it was true. "Try to relax, and I will clean your hair," he told her, hoping he was doing this right. It seemed simple enough, after all. He poured more of the liquid from the bottle onto her hair, before working it into her hair with his fingers - probably a lot more than was needed. The stuff lathered up, creating bubbles and foam as he gently worked it through her hair. The process was making his shoulder ache, but he did his best to ignore the pain, which was nothing compared to the torments he'd suffered at his father's hand.

As he worked the lather into her hair, she sighed happily, closing her eyes. The experience brought back memories from the childhood that had almost been lost to her; of her pack mother doing just this in human form, washing her hair when she had been small and helpless. They were flashes of feeling, images from a long distant past, but they were there. Faolan's humanity had not been lost to her.

If Tiernan thought hard enough, he'd have similar memories of a lost childhood, but his focus at the moment was on Faolan. "Perhaps someday you will remember how to speak, and you can tell me how you came to be with my father," he said, trying to fill the silence with some kind of conversation, hoping she understood what he was telling her. "I am sorry he hurt you. He is cold and cruel and does not understand what it is to be human. I am only half human myself. My mother was a mortal woman. He took me away from her when I was a boy, and I never saw her again," he told her, as he scrubbed the shampoo into her hair.

But that, it seemed, was a memory Faolan did not want to go back to. All she could do was shake her head, turning her face away from him as some protective darkness of her own making covered over the memory of just how she had come to be collared in the first place. Her fingertips touched the tender, reddened skin at her throat, the burn that would take time to fade despite her accelerated healing. Too many years trapped within the mind of the animal inside her. Tiernan was lucky she had held onto her own name so tightly, or he might have had a feral wolf in a woman's body to deal with.

He sighed, realizing she was not going to let him off the hook so easily. "Very well," he said. The thought of washing the blood and grime and sweat from his body was not an unpleasant one; it was only the thought of her seeing him without clothing, afraid she might not like what she saw once all of his was revealed. "Turn around," he told her, not wanting her to watch as he loosed his trousers and climbed into the water.

She rolled her eyes at his instruction, sure he had nothing she had not seen before, but turned her head away obediently, allowing him a little privacy to get used to being naked in her company. No doubt he would have preferred her to stay looking away while he washed, but she had already decided what she was going to do. Taking up the cup he had used, she filled it from the bath and began to wet his hair, always careful not to wet the bandage about his shoulder. Some things did not need to be taught.

He felt shy and unsure of himself in this human body, never having been naked with a woman before, but he let her wash his hair, just as he'd washed hers, enjoying the warmth of the water and the feel of her fingers as she massaged the shampoo into his scalp. It was strangely soothing, almost comforting in a way, though he did not compare her in any way to his mother.

Long, slender fingers worked the lather through his hair gently but quickly, washing away the dirt and scum to reveal the silvery white that crowned his head. Faolan smiled brightly, sniffing him with a little more approval this time, before she reached for the cup to wash the suds from his hair. It didn't occur to her that he might be uncomfortable in his naked state. She was perfectly comfortable, after all.

He almost wished to retreat into his wolf form, as he always did when he was feeling uncomfortable or afraid, but this wasn't the time or the place. He thought that would only frighten those who lived here and who had come to their aid. There would be time for that later, when they were free to roam the woods to their hearts' desire. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he was naked or the warmth of the water, but he felt an uncontrollable flush suddenly warming his cheeks. He tried to avoid her gaze, but it was difficult with her so close, and he found her smile catching.

Her hands were gentle as she squeezed the last of the water from his hair, leaning close to lick his temple affectionately, despite his admonishment the last time that humans don't lick. She nuzzled to his cheek, her hand searching in the water, and finally came up with a cloth to wash his skin, once again making sure to keep his bandage as dry as she could.

She was not only affectionate but gentle in her bathing of him, and though he was perfectly capable of doing it himself, she seemed to be enjoying herself too much for him to stop her - not to mention the fact that he was enjoying it himself. It had been a long time since he had felt the touch of another being, other than that of his sister, and he found his emotions suddenly threatening.

So many things in a being betray the rising of emotion. It could be in a sudden flicker of tension; it could be a change in the rhythm of their breath. Whatever it was in Tiernan, Faolan felt it, her hands stilling as she ducked her head to look into his eyes, her expression filled with concern for him. What had she done" Was he all right"

He didn't bother trying to hide the tears in his eyes or the fact that his chin was trembling. What was the point of hiding what he was feeling when she'd already seen everything there was to see" Though he hardly knew her, there would be no secrets between them - of that he was certain. "No one has ever touched me like that," he admitted, his voice as quiet as a whisper and trembling with emotion. Not even Lyneth. Not in a very, very long time. He wasn't even sure how long it had been.

Someone with words at their command might have tried to comfort him, to tell him that there was nothing to be afraid of, no reason to fear a touch when it was offered by a friend. But Faolan didn't have words. Her gaze softened as she leaned in toward him, her nose brushing his once, twice. Then her hand gently cupped his jaw, and her lips found his, softly tentative, trying to tell him what she could not say. Perhaps one day she would have words to tell him, but for now, he would simply have to make do with the simple affection of a wolf in human form who had already made her choice.

But what was it exactly she was trying to tell him' That was the question. She had claimed him - that much seemed certain - but was it a mate she wanted or merely a friend" He would have welcomed either, having no mate and few friends but those who had come to rescue him. His lips were warm and soft beneath hers, answering her kiss and her unspoken promise with one of his own. He, too, had already decided. If he was able to choose, he would choose her.

Gently, she drew back from that soft touch of lips, nuzzling close a moment longer as she smiled her warm smile for him alone. Then she settled back onto her knees, patting the rug beside her and closing her eyes. It was time for him to get out of bath.

He looked at her in wonder - he, a half-Fae male of unknown age. He had seen many things in his life, some pleasant, some not so pleasant - but none of them compared to this simple sharing of affection. The kiss seemed to have had the desired effect, the threat of tears fading. He reached forward to pull the plug, allowing the warm water to drain from the tub, frowning a little as he realized he was going to have to bare himself to her again as he climbed from the bath. He felt suddenly awkward in this body, but she had hidden nothing from him, and he thought he should do the same.

She listened as he pulled the plug, as he levered himself up, keeping her eyes closed, since that was what he seemed to want her to do when he was naked. Her head tilted in lupine fashion as she listened to him, marking every tiny movement until he was still once again.

He watched her as he stepped from the bath, favoring the wounded shoulder, but still moving with the fluid grace afforded him by his Fae blood. He noticed how she kept her eyes closed, just as he'd asked, and he took advantage of the moment to wrap one of the soft lengths of linen humans called towels around his waist to hide the proof of his masculinity.

Even with her eyes closed, however, her head turned to follow his movement, watching him without sight, more aware of him than she could recall ever having been of anyone else. Her own towel had fallen, forgotten, even before he got into the bath, hooked about her feet where she knelt, waiting patiently for permission to look at him once again. Her hair had begun to dry as she had washed him, curling damply about her shoulders in an innocent nimbus that highlighted her features.

He had moved away for a moment, searching the cabinet and drawers for a comb or hair brush, something to smooth the tangles from their hair. Once that was found, he drew one of the robes from the hook on the wall, more concerned she'd catch cold than anything else. She was accustomed to wearing a wolf's pelt, it seemed, and would catch a chill without something to keep her warm. "Faolan," he called, holding out a hand to help her to her feet.

The moment he said her name, her eyes flew open, finding him in the same instant. She glanced at his hand in confusion, before that confusion became understanding that he wanted to help her rise. Her hand touched his, letting him pull her gracefully onto her feet where she stood, entirely too close for comfort, letting her gaze wander with open admiration over the skin he was prepared to let her see. Her gaze lingered on the tattoos that decorated his side, fascinated by them for a long moment, before she brought that gaze back to his.

His face flamed with heat again as he felt her eyes upon him, wondering if she was merely curious or admiring. Seeing how her gaze lingered on the tattoos, he reached for her hand and drew her fingers to the dark marks on his skin, allowing her to touch them as she wished. "They are sigils," he explained. "They mean different things, but mainly they mark me as belonging to the Fae and the Winter Court." It struck him how meaningless the marks were now, though they would be a part of him for the rest of his life. He said nothing more on the matter, but drew the robe around her shoulders. "You should wear this. It will keep you warm."

Tiernan sighed a little, mostly at the nickname his sister seemed determined to give him, though he had yet to correct her. It was sweet in a way, though he thought it a little silly, but maybe silly was a good thing, considering everything they'd been through. "All right?" he asked, turning his gaze to Faolan, to make sure she was agreeable before opening that door.

She nodded, tucking her shoulder behind his, holding his hand between her own. Her mouth rested just behind his shoulder, eyes and nose above the strong line that led to his neck, half-hidden but alert for what was behind the door. At least she wasn't under the bed this time.

Hand in hand, he led her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, forgetting he was only dressed in a towel, more concerned about Faolan's well-being than his own. "You may enter!" he called, lifting his voice so those on the other side of the door could hear him.

"Goodie!" There was the sound of small hands scrabbling at the door handle, needing assistance before it opened, and Lynnie came back into sight, curls flying out behind her head as she skipped into the room and stopped dead at the sight of them, her mouth dropping open as she looked up at her brother and his ....lady-wolf. And well she might stare.

Tiernan, pale and tall, his silver-white hair drying about his head and shoulders, was in beautiful contrast to his companion, whose appearance echoed the wolf she had been the night before. Golden hair, golden eyes, even a golden hint to her skin; Faolan could not be overlooked in a crowd, much less discounted even when standing alone next to the beauty of a half-Fae.

"Ooooh ..." Lynnie breathed out, groping one hand behind her to get her own companion's attention. "She was pretty 'fore, honest. Now she's booty-fool."

"Oh, my," Miranda gasped softly as she took in the pair. The male was obviously more than human, his pale skin almost luminous in the morning light, some sort of marks etched onto his flesh, hair more silver than white. He looked young in an ageless, timeless sort of way, but it was the eyes she noticed most - as green as the forest and betraying some sort of hidden pain. He was handsome in an odd sort of way, but Lyneth was right - the girl was stunning, beautiful even, and Miranda hadn't even dressed her yet. "She's lovely, Lyneth," Miranda said with a soft maternal smile as she eyed the pair. "My name is Miranda. I'm Lyneth's aunt ....Desmond's cousin actually. It's complicated. I'm here to take your measurements. I'm told you're both in need of a wardrobe," she explained, unsure how much of that either would understand.

Tiernan arched a dark brow, in sharp contrast to the silvery-white hair on that framed his face. "But Lyneth's mother said there were clothes ..."

Faolan's eyes tracked curiously over the new woman in the room, her sharp nose already picking up the immediacy of a scent she had come across before - on the man who had taken her collar from her neck the night before. She shifted a little, looking up at Tiernan as he spoke.

Lyneth giggled, shaking her head. "There's clothes, but they won't fit you," she informed him. "M'anda knows all about clothes, and she's really, really good, and you're not wearing any knickers!" The little girl dissolved into wicked snickers behind her hands, her eyes on Tiernan's towel.

"I'm sorry," Tiernan said, obviously confused. What were knickers" He tracked Lyneth's gaze to his towel, flushing with embarrassment. "Oh, I, uh ....We ....I had a bath and ..." He looked between the pair with a slightly panicked expression on his face. "We haven't had a chance to get dressed yet."

Miranda only smiled reassuringly. "It's all right, dear. You aren't the first man I've seen with his pants off and you likely won't be the last." She was a fashion designer, after all - getting people into and out of clothes was her business. "Lyneth, why don't you help ....Nanny ....find some pants while I take the lady's measurements?" she suggested. She had yet to explain that she was Rufus' wife, but it hardly seemed to matter.

"Okay!" Lyneth pottered over to the pair, and spent a constructive few minutes utterly failing to untangle Faolan's hands from her brother's. She frowned up at them both. "You got to let go," she informed them. "Elsewise I'm going to run away with your towel."

"She's become rather attached to me, I'm afraid. Would it help if I got dressed here?" Tiernan asked, reluctant to leave Faolan alone, though he was just as reluctant to let anyone else see him without clothing.

"I only want to take you over to that chest of drawrers," Lyneth told him, pointing to the beautiful piece of furniture just a few steps away. "I'm not gonna take him away, Fay. Promise." Her little fingers stroked the back of Faolan's hand as she looked up at the young woman.

Faolan considered her for a long moment, understanding the necessity of letting go even if she didn't want to. She sighed quietly, nipping the back of Tiernan's shoulder with gentle affection, and slipped her grip from his.

"There, now. That wasn't so difficult," Miranda praised them both, like she might a pair of frightened children. She'd seen her fair share of those in her day. "I promise this won't hurt a bit, dear," she assured the young woman. "I am only going to measure you with this tape, you see?" she asked Faolan, as she demonstrated with the measuring tape in hopes she'd understand what she wanted to do. Meanwhile, Tiernan allowed Lyneth to lead him toward the chest of drawers with a single worried glance at Faolan.

Though she wasn't happy at being parted from him, even by a few feet, Faolan was instantly fascinated by the tape measure, tugging at one end of it as Miranda showed it to her. She recognized the markings as numbers, a small flicker of a smile showing on her face however briefly as she leaned close to the woman to sniff her. She drew back with a faint cringe as the artificial scent of perfume interfered, her eyes watering at a smell very few people would even notice as being there. She could smell a baby, too, the scent almost overpowering, and yet this woman did not smell as though she had whelped in the last year. It was fascinating.

And that little investigation was interrupted by the sound of Lyneth combing through the drawers behind them. "Underpants for your winkie, and pants for your legs, and a shirt what does up 'cos you have an ouchie ..."

"My winkie?" he echoed, unsure what she meant by that, though once he sorted it out, his face flushed an even deeper shade of red. "I am able to dress myself," he pointed out, a little defensively, though he knew she was only trying to help. He had seen the way people dressed here and knew he stood out like a sore thumb, but his wardrobe was the least of his worries right now.

"Not prop'ly," his little sister informed him, turning around with her arms full of clothes that might fit him. She looked up at her brother with an innocent grin. "The knickers is on top if you want to jump around putting them on under your towel."

"Why would I jump around?" he asked, taking her literally, as he always seemed to do. He glanced at the pile of clothing, and despite his insistence on being able to dress himself, some of the items in the pile looked unfamiliar. It was all those strange fastenings. It seemed like a lot of work just to get dressed. "I will get dressed in the bathroom," he said, hoping that was all right with her.

Behind the door in the bathroom, Lyneth was giggling up at her brother. "You got them on backwards," she was saying, pointing at the pants he was trying to do up at his back. "The zip and the button goes in front, so's you can pull out your winkie when you need to."

Tiernan frowned, his face flushing partly with embarrassment and partly frustration. He had never had any trouble getting dressed before, but these clothes she had chosen for him baffled him. Well, at least, that explained why they felt so uncomfortable. His own clothes were much easier to put on and more comfortable to wear, but they needed a good cleaning, at best. "I don't understand why there are so many fastenings," he complained.

"Because they fall off of you if they don't do up," his little sister explained, pushing him to sit on the toilet lid so she could pull the pants off him and turn them around. "These won't fit you 'cos you're not as big in some places like Uncle Jon, but M'anda will measure you up and get you clothes what fit proper and then they won't feel so weirdy-like."

"What places?" he asked, curiously. If memory served, he'd met the man briefly. He had accompanied her father, along with the others, in coming for him. "I would prefer clothes like those I'm accustomed to wearing," he said, though he wasn't sure that was possible or wise.

"Shoulders and bum," Lyneth informed him cheerfully. "Uncle Jon's all wide inna shoulders. Auntie Vicki says it's so she's got something to hold onto, but then Mummy shushed her and made me go and play with Em'lee." She grinned up at him impishly, inserting his feet one at a time into the pants, this time the right way around.

Fortunately for them both, he hadn't slipped off the toilet lid when she'd yanked the pants from his legs. "What is it about being a child that you like so much?" he asked curiously and abruptly. It was a question he'd been wanting to ask her for a while. He had seen her both as a child and a woman and was curious why she seemed to prefer one over the other.

She paused to consider that for a moment, little hands working the material up his legs carefully. "Cuddles," she said finally, offering him a smile. "And ....I'm small, so people want to look after me. I get their time. Mummy and Daddy put time aside so they can show me how much they love me. They hold me on their laps, and they read to me, and they teach me things. I don't have to be on my own, because they want to be with me. And the human part of me is still small. It needs time to grow up. I've been a grown up three times, but only when people needed me to be, and it was scary. The Fae part of me knew what to do, but the human part panicked. I don't want to spend my life panicking inside myself. I want to be a child, and then a teenager, and then an adult, so when I'm properly grown up, every part of me will be ready for it."

He listened intently to her explanation, helping her with the pants as much as he could. It wasn't difficult getting them up over his hips once they were on the right way. They were a bit of a loose fit, but would do for now. "I envy you," he told her, with a guilty frown on his face.

She frowned curiously, looking up at him. "Why?" she asked, stepping back as he took over dressing himself once again. "You has something I don't, and I has something you don't. You has Fay and she likes the smell of your butt." The little girl giggled behind her hands. Evidently she'd been spending a little too much time around the dogs on the estate to have picked up that little tidbit.

"I beg your pardon?" he said, both brows arching upwards. Was she talking about what he thought she was talking about' If only she knew what had gone on in the bathroom before she'd arrived. His explanation was lost in his confusion.

Snickering, Lyneth took advantage of his confusion to hug him about the waist, cuddling in close. "I like her," she told him. "You can keep her. Not that she will let you go 'way now, 'cos she likes you lots. Even I can see that and I'm not s'posed to know what I'm looking at."

"I like her, too," Tiernan replied, awkwardly returning his sister's hug. More than liked, he thought, though he wasn't quite sure how to express what he was feeling. "I like you, too, Lyneth," he added, though in a very different way than how he liked Faolan. "I am proud to call you sister." Even if she did like to embarrass him sometimes.

She beamed delightedly, snuggling into his embrace. He'd get used to her, eventually. "You're not allowed to disappear again," she told him, her little girl's face stern as she frowned up at her brother. "I didn't like it, not knowing where you was. You can go away, but you got to always come back. Okay?"

"I am sorry I disappeared. I was afraid he'd try to hurt you or your family again," he explained the reason for his disappearance, though he'd returned from time to time in hawk form to make sure she was safe. "I promise if I ever go away again, I will tell you first." He paused a moment before echoing, "Okay?" as he looked down at her.

Lyneth considered this for a moment, and nodded. "M'kay," she agreed, letting go eventually. "You got to put your shirt on, or M'anda will make you do it anyway. She's very ..." She concentrated. "Meticulosus."

He furrowed his dark brows down at her. "I'm not sure what that means," he said, though he plucked up the shirt and working out how it went on, drew it carefully over his shoulders, injured and otherwise.

"Means if you don't do it right, she'll make you do it right every time until you do it right on your own every time," Lynnie offered. It wasn't much of an explanation, but it would do for now. "Should we getted you a dickshun canary for Christmas?"

"Lyneth!" Miranda called from the other room, interrupting. "What are you two doing in there?"

Tiernan looked even more confused at Lyneth's question. Not only wasn't he sure what a dickshun canary was, but he wasn't too sure about Christmas either. Thankfully, they were interrupted by Miranda's question, though he hadn't gotten his shirt buttoned yet.

"We're getting dressed!" Lyneth yelled back at the top of her lungs. "An' besides, you don't want to watch Nanny lookin' at Fay's boobies because he'll go all funny and she'll want to sniff his butt!" This was delivered not only at ear-piercing volumes, but through a bright stream of giggles, too.

"I am not sure what you mean by boobies," the half-Fae confessed, looking more confused than ever. He didn't really understand what a butt was either, but he'd likely learn soon enough. He turned his attention to the buttons on his shirt, trying to sort out how to fasten them. The zipper was actually easier, compared to this.

"Her lady bumps on her front are boobies," Lyneth informed him with a matter-of-fact smile. "I don't have any yet, 'cos I'm small. The biggest boobies what I ever seed are Bef'ny's boobies, and they got bigger when she had babies!" The little girl crowed with laughter at that, concentrating hard on doing up the bottom of his buttons as he worked out the rest.

Miranda could tell from the sound of Lyneth's laughter that the little imp was up to mischief, but she said nothing to dissuade her - for now. She only shook her head and continued getting Faolan dressed.

Meanwhile, Tiernan looked confused. "I am quite certain they are called something else," he informed his sister, though he didn't volunteer what that something might be. He wasn't quite sure what Lyneth found so hysterical about the female anatomy. Was there a joke there he was missing?

She swallowed behind her smile, the sensation of speaking very alien to her throat and mouth. Perhaps it would never come so easily to her as it had before, but for now, those two words would have to do. Holding his gaze, she took one of his hands in her own, raising his palm to her lips before pressing it over her heart, close enough to feel the beat of her life for himself. "Mise deo," she whispered again, unable to raise more volume, but able to add one more word as her fingers touched his cheek. "Tiernan."

His heart seemed to flutter inside his chest when she repeated those words, followed by his name. His name on her lips almost sounded like a prayer. "Faolan," he whispered, not quite trusting his voice, his fingers touching the place where her heart rested. Was she only grateful that he'd saved her from the Hunter or was this something more" He knew what he was feeling, but he wasn't sure he had words for it. Was this what love felt like" He leaned forward to touch his nose to hers, like he might if he was in wolf form - a sign of trust and affection. He breathed a soft sigh, unsure what to say, except for that whispered sigh of her name.

What would she tell him, if she could" The truth, perhaps - that the moment he had looked into her eyes and reminded her that there was life beyond pain and obedience to a cruel master was the moment her choice had been made. Or would he prefer the lie - that it was love at first sight, and not the natural instincts of a wolf who knew when she had met her match' Or did it even matter" The choice had been made, and her words, so unfamiliar on her tongue, had been spoken. Mise deo; forever yours. She nuzzled to him softly, leaving the decision in his hands. She would be whatever he wanted of her, no matter her own hopes. He had given her everything; she gave him all she had. It was a fair exchange.

In those first moments when he'd seen her with the Hunter - his father - the silver collar about her neck, he'd known he could not leave without her, no matter the outcome. Though they were not of the same bloodline or even the same species, there was an inexplicable link between them that he couldn't deny. He couldn't tell her he loved her - not yet, not when he was only just starting to understand love - but there was something, some unexplainable feeling deep inside him that told him they belonged together. "Ta tu mianach," he told her quietly. You are mine. "Ta me mise," he continued. I am yours.

There was no way to disguise the delight that rose in her smile as he spoke to her, confirming her hopes with just a few words. Her eyes glistened happily as she gazed up at him, innocent in her own way, for all the sensuality that came with being a creature bound so very close to the natural world around her. She rose onto her bare toes, nipping affectionately at his lips as her arms wound about his waist once again. He would never be rid of her now, even if his heart and mind were to change. It was not love, not yet, but it was something far more binding that now held them together. Perhaps Lyneth would get her pretty dress, after all.

Had they been in wolf form, it was likely they would have mated right then and then - and it was likely that mating would have been for life - but they were both in their mortal forms, fumbling and awkward and shy. Still, Tiernan knew what he was feeling, and he knew it was something unique, something special, something that would never happen again. In that moment, he wasn't quite sure what to do except to return that affection with affection of his own, as his lips tentatively touched hers - softly, warmly, gently.

Though they had shared a single kiss before, Faolan seemed almost surprised as his lips touched hers, her eyes widening as she looked at him. But only for a moment. Instincts exist even in the most contemporized of humans, and neither one of them was so far removed from their nature that those instincts would not come in handy. Slowly, her eyes closed as she eased just that little bit closer, hands smoothing against his back as her lips parted just enough to let her taste his breath. A single kiss, yes, but somehow more intimate than any lupine mating could have been in the same moment.

He seemed to put all he was feeling into that kiss - all the fear and confusion, along with the hope and the desire and the first stirrings of love. Though it was a brief kiss, it was soft and warm and tender, and it seemed to bring them even closer together. As their lips parted and he pulled away, he finally noticed how she was dressed, and though he had thought her beautiful before, he was even more enchanted now. It wasn't the clothes exactly, though they were pleasing to the eye; it was the way the soft fabric clung to her body and enhanced her curves, making what wasn't visible as enticing as what was. "You're so beautiful," he told her quietly, clearly enchanted.

She chuffed her soft laugh, not seeing herself as he saw her at all. Raising her hand, she gently poked the end of his nose with a single fingertip, bouncing up onto her toes to kiss the same spot with a hint of the playful mischief that had led to her licking his cheek in the bathroom. She seemed to be thrumming, longing to run out there among the green and brown of nature, but holding herself back for fear of harming his injured shoulder. She would not run without him again, not unless he ordered her to.

He smiled at her kiss, slowly becoming more at ease with her than he had been before. He had saved her from the Hunter not knowing she was a shifter, only knowing that she was a wild thing that needed her freedom and here she was, free and choosing to be with him for always. It was almost too much for him to absorb, too good to be true, too hard to believe. "Come," he told her, offering his hand. All he wanted to do was to hold her - just hold her and know she was safe, that they were both safe. They had the rest of their lives to discover each other, and forever was a very long time.

((Well, that was fun. Looks like the Granger clan is expanding once again, folks!))